CAIRO — Egypt’s decision to shut its border with the Gaza Strip has stranded thousands of Palestinians on the Egyptian side of the border, while around a thousand people in Gaza are desperate to get out for medical treatment in Egypt, officials in Gaza say.

Egypt closed Rafah, the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Trip, on Oct. 25 after attacks by Islamist extremist militants, which killed 33 Egyptian soldiers, an assault that prompted Cairo to declare a state of emergency in the area.

It is also pressing ahead with a one-km (0.6-mile) buffer zone with Gaza, partly to clamp down on the smuggling of arms and other goods across the border, a business that helps finance Hamas, the group that dominates the enclave.

One of the consequences of the security clampdown is that some 6,000 Palestinians, who left Gaza before the closing of the crossing point, are now stuck in Egypt or third countries waiting to get back into Gaza.

Another 1,000 people suffering from medical problems including kidney failure, cancer and blood-related diseases, seek urgent treatment or further diagnosis in Egypt, said Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Gaza health ministry.

“If the closure continues, their health conditions will deteriorate and we may start to witness some deaths,” he said.

Israel often takes in urgent cases from Gaza, but Qidra said people are increasingly reluctant to go to Israel because they fear they will be interrogated or asked to become informants for Israel.

Egypt is keen to regain full control in Sinai, where Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, a militant group allied to “Islamic State”, is gaining influence, but also to put pressure on Hamas, which has long had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Eyad al-Bozom, a spokesman for the Gaza interior ministry run by officials loyal to Hamas, said: “Internal incidents in Egypt are an internal Egyptian affair that has nothing to do with Gaza. It is illogical to make our people pay the price for these incidents or be the victim of Egyptian security measures.”